Obama and Gore Talk Energy and the Environment

CNBC, Dec 23, 2008

The president elect, Barack Obama believes that the former Vice President Al Gore's ideas regarding the environment are going to be a real key when it comes to helping the nation's struggling economy recover. Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Gore recently met privately at Obama's transition headquarters located in Chicago for nearly two hours. They invited reporters and photographers to a brief photo opportunity following the closed-door meeting to discuss what occurred inside.

Obama says that so called green jobs could work wonders when it comes to helping the economy, as well as creating a large number of jobs all across the country. He described global warming not only as a problem, but also as an opportunity. Aides have said that a job offer for Gore to join the administration with Obama was not a part of the discussion.

Gore had originally sought the presidency on his own in 2000, but he lost to former Texas governor George W. Bush in a widely disputed election that had to be settled in the Supreme court to finally reach a conclusion. He then went on to become a leader in the movement intended to draw attention to global warming and climate change issues. He won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 and put out a documentary called An Inconvenient Truth that won him an Academy Award in the same year. Now Gore has become well known for speaking out about the environment, global warming and other earth friendly issues.

Obama has already pledged to use part of his proposed stimulus package for the economy to develop green technologies and alternative energies. Obama's aides have said that the private meeting was going to shape the economic policies that the president elect would be putting into action.

The former vice president, Al Gore, endorsed Obama during the election in June, shortly after Obama clinched the Democratic nomination against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Gore was vice president under president Bill Clinton before he attempted to run for the presidency on his own in 2000. Now it seems like Gore and Obama could potentially make an excellent team, as they have similar ideals when it comes both to the economy and the environment as well.